LG G Pad Initial ImpressionsGeneral

Holy cow! I just opened the box and I figured I should write down my first impressions of the device. And "Holy Cow!" is the first thing that comes to mind. (Actually it was "Holy $hit!, but I figure I should keep it clean...)

This device is ridiculously slick. The form factor is awesome. The minimal bezel actually takes a little getting used to because it's so thin. But from an aesthetics standpoint, this device is beautiful (I own the white one). And it's super thin yet feels really well made.

When you turn on the device, you see a great screen. I've read some complaints about a yellowish and/or dim screen, but mine looks bright and sharp. The UI is pretty benign and there is very little bloat on the device. While I intend to root it at some point, I think most people will be very happy with a stock experience.

I have spent less than 1 hour with the tablet, so I'm sure I'll encounter problems with it, but my first impressions are really, really good.

And I've used plenty of tablets over the years, most recently a 2012 Nexus 7 and Asus Transformer Prime. While those are now a little outdated, I've owned a Nexus 10, a Note 10.1, a Transformer Infinity, a Tab 3 (7"), among others, so I've had my fair share of tablets. And the G Pad absolutely blows them all out of the water right now.

Well I've been giving my G Pad a good workout in the last 30 hours or so and on the whole I like it very much. I haven't made much use of the specific LG features, although I have dabbled with them. One feature I really like, which surprises me, is the knock on/off feature. The form factor is perfect for me, fitting into both trouser pockets and jacket pockets. The weight is acceptable for holding at the edge, and more so for gripping around both sides. Performance is fine and connectivity seems good. It is a little slippery and the edges are a bit sharp in the hand, so a gel/TPU skin might be in order - I have one fitted to my Note for reasons of grip and protection.

The only real negatives are with the screen. Brightness is a bit limited at maximum - just about adequate rather than great - and auto brightness seems highly ineffective. There is also the question of a greenish colour cast (a lot of people report "yellow"), which is actually OK in normal use, but does spoil photos if you want to be colour critical. In isolation it is not very obvious, but compared to other devices you soon see the colour difference.

I'd also like it to have 3G/4G, but I can't complain about that because I knew before purchase that it wasn't going to happen. For my needs it is the closest thing to the perfect tablet on the market today. With 4G and a better screen it would have it nailed.

Other contenders which failed to make the cut were the Nexus 7 (non expandable storage, screen too small, bezels too fat) and the Kindle Fire HDX (no GPS, screen too big or too small, fat bezels, no Play store). Apple were never in the running for me and the 8" Samsung offerings available today are overdue a technical update.

I picked up one from bestbuy i like everything except the blacks are very black and compared to my nexus 7 2013 there is a lot of detail missing from games like asphalt 8 because of how dark the screen is.

So far so good. Bought it Friday. Biggest downside so far is the lack of selection of covers/cases for it. Other than that it is extremely snappy. Benchmarks almost the same as my HTC One, which doesn't surprise with basically the same specs.

The screen is flawless, bright and responsive. The LG apps are non-intrusive. Still getting used to Q-slide and some of the other features that may be useful.

After spending more time with the device, my overall review stands. But there are some things that could've been improved. As most people mention, the screen is not the greatest. It's not a bad screen, but it's not a great screen. I never run my devices at full screen power, but I do with the G Pad. And while the screen is fine for most everyday use, when put side by side with a Nexus 7, the G Pad is noticeably weaker. So, if you are looking for the best screen out there, beware that the G Pad doesn't have it.